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Loose lips sink ships....and

loose teeth completely give me the creeps, willies, etc.,etc. My prayers include...Clare not wiggling and/or losing her tooth while she is on my watch. I will be all about preparing the tooth for the Tooth Fairy to whisk it away but until then may it stay firmly in her mouth until Chris gets home. On a side note...did you know that the Tooth Fairy has her own (bizarre) website...it creeps me out just about as much as the actual wiggling of a tooth!

Stop, drop and roll...

Addie and J.B.--future firefighters...ummm probably not...read on...

Most of you probably know that October is fire prevention month and just a couple of weeks ago it was Fire Prevention Week. Our local fire department hosted an open house...which for the most part was awesome...all until the "sprinkler" demonstration...sounds harmless enough right? The kids had completed the obstacle course--complete with getting to use the fire hose and slide down a pole, they had won a toy in the duck pond game, they had had a frosting sugar attack cupcake....so the last thing on our list was....the sprinkler demonstration....Sara, Greta, JB, my cousin Becky, Clare, Addie and I positioned ourselves on the bleachers to watch two small makeshift building start on fire--sounds like a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon--right?

One building had a sprinkler system, one did not....well---Addie didn't even make it to the fire department display of how they put out the fire....the minute it started on fire she started to whimper and by the time the flash fire had started and the whole building was in flames she was screaming hysterically----of course the firefighters who were not saving the building were trying to help me calm her down and I was simply trying to make my way through the crowd to get the hell of of there. Clare of course stayed through the whole thing and reported that the sprinkler house hardly started on fire....the magazine and the teddy bear didn't even burn! So...I'm guessing that Addie may never aspire to be a firefighter and may look back and lament how her well meaning, trying to educate the kids through experiental learning mom dragged her to "sprinkler show" and she was traumatized for life. At least she has fond memories of the cupcakes right?

What if....

every place you went during your day had music attached to it....as I was watching Grey's Anatomy last night it dawned on me how some situations on t.v. or a movie seem so much more romantic, intense, scary, you fill in the blank because of soundtrack music. Grey's is famous for this...the Snow Patrol music kicks in and the emotion is ramped up a notch. It is kind of funny to think about what music might be playing for the "soundtrack to my life"....If I was in a hurry perhaps a really fast Irish jig would begin playing...if I was trying to get everyone out the door in the a.m. the Rocky Song would start, when I stepped on the scale..."Whoomp there it is", etc., etc. What songs would be on your list for your own personal soundtrack? Happy Weekend!

Would you ever guess...

That these children were at a funeral...it looks as if they are posing for the next Disney sitcom!

or....that Sara and I were gritting our teeth and whispering under our breath telling our children to stop making silly faces while we took the only family picture we have taken in years...I know...we are truly effective parents!

Whine...no Wine...yes!

Plouf in San Francisco

It was 6 days of no whining and lots of wine! I absolutely love Napa and Sonoma....I don't know if it is a mix of the beautiful scenery and total escape from the day to day....or b/c I am consuming a great amount of terrific wine. Chris has blogged and provided a few pics of the trip--so I will give a quick recap and a few more pics. For those of you that don't know...Chris did find out where we were going the night before we left while looking over his mom's shoulder at the lists I had provided for them--including info about where we would be staying. In the long run that was good b/c he could pack a few more things,etc.,etc. I also still thought I had the surprise about Sara and Braxton in my back pocket....until that is at 5:00a.m.--I posted the entry regarding where we would be going and the surprise at the airport....while unknown to me...Chris was sending final e-mails,etc., etc., checking my blog,etc., etc., on his laptop in the dining room.....surprise #2 not so much a surprise by 5:15 a.m. Oh well--we (meaning myself, family, friends) managed to keep it a secret for 365+ days...so I would say we all did pretty well. We had a tremendous time--it was indeed a Happy 10th Anniversary!

A quick lists of my favorites!

Far Niente--Walt our tour guide was great--stunning property and tremendous wine (and cheese).

Rutherford Hill--w(private tasting in the cave...huge meat, olive and cheese tray...need I say more?)

Frog's Leap--Upbeat tour guide, organic winery and beautiful vegetable gardens--and we lucked into a barrel tasting...getting to taste wine that won't be released until 2010!

Barnett--On Spring Mountain--gorgeous views...excellent wines...private tasting

Dutcher Crossing--In Dry Creek Valley--beautiful setting for a picnic...yummy wine!

Nickel and Nickel--Single Vineyard wines---so so good!

Peju--An unexpected stop...great host...did a little Rap o'Napa for us

We also had some great meals at Dry Creek Kitchen in Healdsburg, Bouchon and Hurley's in Yountville and Taylor's Refresher in St. Helena.

A time for...

fun, laughter, friendship, quiet, reconnecting, relaxing and dying.  This past week has been a whirl wind.  Our trip to California was absolutely fantastic everything from the company to the weather was perfect.  More for sure to come on California.  When we were at the airport on Wednesday we got word that my grandma was not doing well. She has been slipping away little by little for really the last 6 months.

Thursday morning I went to visit and instantly knew that she did not have a lot of time left here....after sitting with her for a while and watching different people come in to say their goodbyes including her sister who lives down the hall....it was time for me to say goodbye.  I really believed that she might hang on for just enough time for my mom to come back later that evening from Texas...but as I said goodbye I told her that she was free to go if she wanted to...she could let go and let God...and just a few hours later that is exactly what she did. She was 93 years old...I was lucky enough to have her at my college graduation, wedding and meet my children--who took an active role in her life and enjoyed going to Pioneer Court to visit Grandma Dorothy and attend all her fun "parties"....so much that Clare remarked..."Well--Aunt June still lives there...so we can still go to the parties"  Just a few things I will remember about her:

• Her fabulous baking skills...some favorites...Red Cake and Scotcharoos
• The way she packed anything--including her creations in the kitchen to her tablecloths...they were perfectly wrapped, folded,etc....even on my best folding days I still cannot achieve this.
• Telling Sara and I that we were "full of prunes" if were trying to sneak something past her.
• Providing a place to go in-between the end of school and a sports game as they were just a few blocks away from the high-school...these stop overs always provided some yummy treats.
• The correct pronunciation of Ho-No-Ne-Gah---heavy on the Ho part....to which we would always say Ha-no-ne-gah--which always got her riled up....to those of you who have no idea what a Hononegah is....it is the name of the high school that we attended and that she was a secretary at.
• Making me drink the milk out of my cereal bowl.
• Her perfect cursive writing skills.
• Her lists and calendar
• Their annual trip to Texas and the prep and organization that went in to the trip.
• Telling Sara and I that a bar stool was no place for a proper lady...oops sorry grandma!
• The way little children responded to her and how she loved them.

So--this week has been a time for this and a time for that....So often I come back to the following and this week of course it is so true...

For everything there is a season,

And a time for every matter under heaven:

A time to be born, and a time to die;

A time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;

A time to kill, and a time to heal;

A time to break down, and a time to build up;

A time to weep, and a time to laugh;

A time to mourn, and a time to dance;

A time to throw away stones, and a time to gather stones together;

A time to embrace, And a time to refrain from embracing;

A time to seek, and a time to lose;

A time to keep, and a time to throw away;

A time to tear, and a time to sew;

A time to keep silence, and a time to speak;

A time to love, and a time to hate,

A time for war, and a time for peace.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8